


Zdrajca

by Kat_watson



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Light Angst, Some Humor, hidden past, some light horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26666440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_watson/pseuds/Kat_watson
Summary: Shane has a secret past, one involving the Polish mafia. Just when he thinks he's left his past behind him, it catches up and threatens those closest to him. Now him and Ryan have to face his past. Ex-Polish mafia! Shane.zdrajca = the traitor
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	Zdrajca

**Author's Note:**

> it's set a few years ago, nothing exact. obviously an AU for Shane's past. hope you enjoy!

The Slaby’s had always been high up in the Polish mafia. There connections went back decades and there had always been at least one family member as a lieutenant. Which is why, when the newest Slaby son was born, he was raised to join his father in a high-ranking position in the mafia. 

The newest Slaby son was called Alec Slaby. He was raised to be fluent in both Polish and English, as well as a fee common phrases in other languages. He was taught how to be emotionless when it mattered, when to care, when to strike and how to enact revenge. He was also taught the business side of things; the fair prices for different drugs, how to be diplomatic, how to justify each action to avoid enemies. That was what his father taught him.

His mother, however, taught him something very different. She taught him about friendships, with romantic fairytale bedtime stories about true love, she taught him to be nice and how to make friends.

Alec experienced two very different parents, with different ideas on what makes a man successful. The end result was a child who didn’t want to be in the mafia, but would do a damn good job at it anyway.

When Alec was 21, already holding a position in the mafia with his father, everything changed. Alec’s mother had been an informant, feeding the authorities information about the next hit. She did to protect her husband and son, but ended up endangering them. The mafia didn’t take lightly to a snitch, and soon there was multiple attempts to take the Slaby family’s lives. One was successful: Alec’s father was killed in front of his house, in front of Alec. Alec himself was shot in the arm.

Alec and his mother were eventually placed in witness protection, moved to Illinois in America. They both knew English, this helped them greatly as they were forced to start new lives. Alec Slaby had a new identity: Shane Alexander Madej.

~ 11 years later ~

Shane loved working at Buzzfeed, he really did. He had creative freedom, not to mention a relaxed workplace environment. Everyone was so friendly, something he never truly got over. He had made friends, lots of them, and a best friend called Ryan. He even did work in front of the camera with Ruining History and Buzzfeed Unsolved. He hadn’t even thought about his previous life in years, secure in his identity as Illinois boy Shane.

Unfortunately, his success also meant his failure. Due to Buzzfeed Unsolved’s popularity, it was on a different channel called BUN. Which also produced other videos. It was one of these videos (I Used To Work For The Polish Mafia) which caused Shane problems. To keep anonymity, the subject of the video was only seen by a select few. Shane just happened to be free that day and volunteered to help.

As soon as Shane saw the man he recognised him: it was Christian, his fathers righthand man. The man was now going by ‘Larry’ and had somehow got involved in the same witness protection scheme as Shane. The recognition was mutual. Christian, or Larry now, smirked up at Shane, telling him he “looked more like an Alec than a Shane”. This prompted a crew member to share that Shane’s middle name was in fact Alexander. Now Christian had Shane’s full name.

The interview went by without any major hitches, although Shane to stop himself from blurting out that Christian had given up his fathers location, leading to his murder. At the end of the interview, Shane pulled Christian aside.

“Why are you here?”

“To do the video Alec. Nothing else.”

“So you didn’t come here for me?”

“No no, you aren’t that important. Don’t get big headed boy.”

“Hey you’re the one who told me to never underestimate what the people in charge will do to get rid of a threat. And there’s two of us right here.”

“Alec listen to me, I’m in protection, like you. I’m not here to hurt you, or spy, or drag you back. We’re on the same side.”

“You told them where my dad would be, you’re the reason he died and that I got shot.”

“That may be so, but if he didn’t die then you wouldn’t be in America right now. The threat had to be real in order for you to be protected.”

“So what? I should be thanking you?” Shane scoffed.

“Yes. You were like a son to me Alec. I did what was necessary and you are here because of it.”

“Goodbye Christian. I hope you’re telling the truth. We’ll never see each other again.” Shane patted Christian’s shoulder before turning and walking away.

The next morning, a man who went by Larry was found shot in his hotel room, a burner phone in his hand. Shane didn’t here about it. The LAPD mistook it for someone caught in a gang war, not even contemplating a greater problem.

~ two weeks later ~

Shane had been on edge for weeks, and Ryan had noticed it. He noticed how Shane arrived at different times every day, sometimes out of breath. He also hadn’t invited anyone to his apartment, convincing Ryan to hold their weekly movie night at his instead of Shane’s. Shane also ‘lost’ his phone, having to get a new number. He left the office at different times each day, and had lunch at different places. When Ryan asked what was going on, he just avoided the question and made a joke about making it harder for the government to track him.

He wasn’t worried about the government though: he was worried about the Polish mafia. Ever since his run in with Christian, he had been changing his routine and trying to become untraceable. He wanted to make sure that meeting Christian was a random occurrence, not something planned. Until he knew for certain, or until it had been long enough, he would continue evading anyone who may want to follow him.

~

It had been 5 weeks since seeing Christian, and Shane we finally starting to relax. He knew that if they wanted to kill him, they would have attempted it by now. Also, his extra precautions had made tailing him hard and he hadn’t noticed anyone watching him. So, when the opportunity for a shoot arrived, Shane took it. He knew that Buzzfeed wouldn’t share his location with anyone, and they hadn’t had any data leaks in all the time he had been working there. Him and Ryan boarded a plane for Ohio on Wednesday night, and they would stay there until Sunday. Shane didn’t bring his gun with him, it couldn’t go on the plane, but he did bring his small (but deadly sharp) pocket knife with him. He also smuggled a mini taser in his luggage, just to be on the safe side.

The journey to the demon house went by without a hitch. Shane had let his guard down and wasn’t worried about being followed. The Polish mafia wasn’t even in his mind. He just focused on having fun with Ryan and getting ready for the shoot. ‘Ghost hunting’ was always tiring, as it relied on hours of waiting and listening. Shane didn’t take it that seriously, but he still worried about Ryan. Ryan often looked five seconds away from fainting, or was light headed after screaming too much.

They had reached the house and were onto the second floor, walking down the hallway where supposed ghosts would often appear. There was a loud creek from downstairs.

“Oh my god. Shane? Tell me you heard that?”

“It’s not a ghost Ryan.”

“But you heard it? Oh my god this is evidence!”

Shane sighed and opened his mouth to talk, before he was interrupted.

“No don’t tell me it was just the house settling or the wind. It hasn’t made that loud a noise the whole time we’ve been here! It’s unexplainable!” Ryan hissed.

“No Ry, houses make noises. Anyway, that doesn’t automatically make it a ghost. If that’s your proof, this is gonna be a rough season for the Boogaras.” Shane turned to TJ, the cameraman, and shook his head at the camera. Suddenly a loud creak came from the stairs.

“Oh no! Shane you can’t tell me that was just the house!”

“Okay it was loud I’ll give you that. But still not a ghost.”

“But it sounded like a footstep! And this is one of the most active spots for things like that!”

“Okay little guy. Let’s just move on. How about that room?” Shane pointed to an open doorway down the corridor. Ryan’s eyes widened as he looked at his friend with shock.

“Seriously? You just happened to pick the exact room where two people were murdered! By a demon!”

“Ah no way man! That’s such a coincidence.” Shane looked at the room with glee. “What do you say to a solo investigation in there?”

Ryan looked uneasy. “Let’s look at it first. Depends how creepy it is.”

They both walked towards the doorways, GoPros in hand. TJ walked in ahead of them, turning the camera so as to film their entrance. The room was horrific; the bed frame was broken forcibly in the middle and there were dark smears on the walls. The curtain was caught in a broken window pane. Shane guffawed loudly, whereas Ryan looked as if about to cry.

They were in the middle of the room, still looking around, when a loud footstep in the corridor cause both of them to turn around. In the doorway was a man, medium stature but wearing a black overcoat which made him look more impressive. One hand was curled around the doorway and the other was hidden in his pocket.

“Hello boys.” He said with a heavy accent.

Ryan immediately screamed, face paling as he reached for the holy water. Shane stepped in front of his friend, arm held out protectively. He glared at the figure

“Begone d-demon! I have holy water blessed by father Thomas!” Ryan yelped, voice shaking.

“Oh I’m no demon. Isn’t that right ... Alec zdrajca?” He paused before saying the name for effect.

Shane grimaced. “What do you want Ray?”

“Ah so you remember me. Of course you do, you were always such a smart child. If it wasn’t for your filthy parents you could still be with us.”

“Shane? What’s going on? Is this a prank?” Ryan looked unsure now. He was still scared, but looked less terrified and more annoyed.

“Ryan just be quiet and stay behind me. Please.” Shane’s voice was soft.

“Ah yes Mr Ryan Bergara. You two are friends, yes? And what do you know about the man you call Shane?”

“Ryan don’t answer him. He’s trying to manipulate you.”

“No see it isn’t manipulation if it’s the truth. Do you know his real name? It isn’t Shane. Do you know what he used to do? All the bad things he did? People he killed?” Ray was smiling now, confident. He’s stepped into the room, blocking the doorway.

Shane stepped forward. “Stop talking now Ray. It’s been 11 years. You need to leave me alone.”

“No no no little Alec. You know the rules. We never forget a traitor. And your family never payed for what they did.”

Shane slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife. The handle was embellished with gold and the knife glinted as he flicked it out. He held it up threateningly. Behind him, TJ and Ryan gasped as they took a few steps back. Away from him.

Ray, however, laughed. “Oh Alec. You still have the blade we gave you! How sweet! You do care after all. Tell me boy, how much blood have you cleaned off that blade? How many people?”

Ryan looked sick at this point. His forehead was sweating and his palms were clammy. He couldn’t stop staring at Shane. Shane: his best friend, his ghoul brother, his boot bro, his co-host. The man who comforted him when he was terrified out of his mind. And now the very same man was holding a knife, with the kind of confidence that can only come from using one. And this other man, whom Shane clearly knew, said he was a murderer, that he had done terrible things. Ryan didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“You killed my father.” Shane said softly. “You tried to kill my mother. You tried to kill me. We had to leave and come to this country, to get away from you. I think we’ve payed enough.”

“That’s where we differ, Alec. You think you’ve payed, but I know that there’s one more thing I need to do until we’re even.” Ray’s hand came out of his pocket, holding a gun. He swivelled it upward, trained on Shane’s body and eventually Shane’s head. 

“What the hell. What the hell.” Ryan muttered under his breath. TJ seemed to be in a similar state of disbelief.

"How did you find me Ray? Why now?” Shane whispered.

“Christian. He was still in contact with us. When he saw you, he told us where you worked. Your new name. We did some research, love your little program by the way. Unsolved? Hey, I’ve got an idea. Maybe you and your little friend can feature on it? Your deaths of course. It’ll be perfect - the fans with love it.”

“Christian was working for you?” 

“Keep up Alec. You’ve gotten slow in America. All these stupid people have gotten inside your head. He was unwilling, but in exchange for information on you I promised to keep his daughter safe. They are both dead now, of course.”

“You killed him?” Shane was shaken, his brow furrowed in disbelief. Ray just laughed whilst looking at him.

“Yes Alec. Now for a very important question: which of your friends do I kill first? You like Ryan the most don’t you? So his death will hurt more.”

“You aren’t killing either or them. Or me for that matter."

“No? Well how about your mother? Some of my friends have her. Either you watch as I kill your little friends here, or I give the order and then kill your mother. Slowly, painfully, we’ll cut her into little pieces whilst she’s still alive. The way we treat traitors. You’ve seen it before, hell, you’ve even participated. But I’m sure it’ll be much more difficult to watch your own mother. So what’ll it be Alec?”

“I’ve made my choice.”

“I’ll leave the room. Give you a chance to say goodbye.” Ray stepped out, closing the door behind him. Shane slowly turned to face his friends.

“Are we going to die?” Ryan blurted out.

Shane just smiled painfully at him. TJ pressed his back to the wall and slowly slid down, until he collapsed on the floor. “I don’t want to die.” He said underneath his breath, his face ashen and distraught.

“Listen, I won’t let you die. Any of you. Not my mother, not you two.”

“But he said you have to choose. And you’ll choose your mum! What’s going on Shane?” Ryan was hissing at him, looking up.

Shane looked briefly at the door before moving closer to Ryan. “You’re not going to die. So to put it simply; my dad and I worked for the Polish mafia, but my mum betrayed them and snitched. So they tried to kill my whole family. They killed my pa, but me and mum went into witness protection in America before they killed us. I got a new identity and it’s been fine since then. Until now. They found me. But I promise you I’ll fix this and you don’t have to die for me.” He smiled at the end, trying to reassure his friends. 

Ryan’s mouth was open wide with shock, and his eyes were blank. He swallowed, but it got caught in his throat and he realised how dry his mouth was. Before he could answer, Ray waltzed back in the room.

“Ah you’ve said your goodbyes? I can’t see any tears, clearly you won’t miss them that much. Oh well. Mr Bergara first then?”

Shane placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, trying to reassure him. He handed Ryan his pocket knife before stepping forward.

“Actually,” He said, clearing his throat before continuing, “there’s been a change of plan. Really, why use two bullets when you can use one?”

Ray looked uncertain, before smiling and nodding. Ryan and TJ shared a look of confusion. Slowly, it began to dawn on Ryan just what Shane had meant.

“No! Shane!” He cried out.

“It’s okay Ryan. I want to do this for you. You’re my best friend. The best friend I’ve ever had in my entire life. You made America so much better. Ghoul Bros for life.” Shane smiled down at his friend. They had been through so much together. Ryan was his first friend in LA, and his first proper friend in America.

“How touching. Now Alec, I want you to kneel. Let’s do this properly.” Keeping the gun trained on Shane, he gestured with his other hand to the floor in front of him. Slowly, Shane moved, before kneeling directly ahead of Ray.

Ryan had tears in his eyes. He clutched at the pocket knife Shane had given him. Suddenly, he knew what to do. He flicked the blade open, took a deep breath and charged. He had barely taken a step when the gun went off. 

The noise shocked him, he had never heard something so loud so close to him. He stopped moving, eyes slowly travelling to Shane and his mouth forming a perfect ‘o’ shape. He dropped the knife, hand moving to his shoulder. His fingers brushed against his shirt, coming away with red streaks. The world was in slow motion and all he could do was stare at his scarlet fingers. All of a sudden, his knees gave way and he dropped to the floor. Then the pain kicked in. He’d never felt anything like it before. It was hot pain, feeling like a fire was burning through his arm. But he could feel the cold hard pain where the bullet was still embedded, stuck in his flesh.

“What did I tell you Alec? Don’t try any—“ Ray looked away from Ryan to the floor, where Shane had been moments ago. But Shane was gone. Snarling, he spun around the room, gun held out in front of him. He felt a blow to his side, then a searing pain as something cut his ankle. The tendon snapped, causing Ray to shriek in pain. He lunged to the side, swinging his gun before being punched in the face. Nose bleeding, Ray staggered back slightly. He had his gun trained on Shane now, finger already tightening.

Before he could pull the trigger, something hit him over the head. He fell to the floor, almost knocked out with the force from the blow. His wrist was crushed underneath Shane’s boot, causing him to drop the gun as his fingers spasmed involuntarily. He was grunting in pain, vision swimming. The last thing he saw was Shane clambering in top of him. The last thing he felt was the cold blade pressed against his throat, then sweet nothing.

~

Shane slowly got off the dead body, wiping his blade on his shirt sleeve. He tried to wipe the blood from his hands into his jeans, only succeeding in creating red smears. He looked up at TJ, who had swung the spirit box into Ray’s head, almost knocking him unconscious. TJ had a blank expression of his face, devoid of any emotion. Shane smiled slightly: he had forgotten how good it had felt to solve a problem, tie up a loose thread. Normally, of course, it wasn’t so... physical. His smile was cut short when he heard a quiet whimper from behind him. Ryan.

Ryan was on his knees, one arm hanging by his side like a dead weight and the other tightly clutching his shoulder. Blood was spilling from his fingers, the warm red staining his white t-shirt. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open.

Shane rushed over to his friend, pulling him gently backwards into his lap. With delicate fingers, he pulled away the fabric covering Ryan’s shoulder. Ryan hissed with the movement.

“Shhh it’s okay” Shane soothed his friend, “it just missed your collarbone. It didn’t hit anything major, just hurts like a bitch.”

“How would you know?” Ryan questioner, his teeth chattering. 

“What you think I haven’t been shot before? The arm, baby. That’s why I never work out, I damaged my arm.”

“Oh my god, the weird mark on your arm? That’s a bullet wound? I knew it wasn’t a birth mark, birthmarks aren’t naturally that circular. Also not working out? That’s just your... your excuse.” They both wheezed slightly at the joke. At least if Ryan was joking it meant he wasn’t dying. Right?

Shane took off his plaid shirt, ripping it into pieces.

“Hey Shane. Maybe now isn’t the best time. Read the room.” Ryan laughed weakly, words still broken up and jittery. Shane smiled at him gently.

“Dumbass,” He said fondly, “I’m dressing your wound. We need to put pressure on it, it’ll stop the bleeding.” He explained as he worked on wrapping the strips of fabric tightly around Ryan’s upper arm and shoulder. He pulled them tightly which caused Ryan to hiss in pain. When he was finished, Ryan gingerly sat up.

“Well it still hurts. But it’s not bleeding which is something. Is he-? Is he... dead?”

“Yes. He died quickly.” Shane’s face was emotionless, but Ryan and TJ has panic in their eyes.

“Oh my god,” TJ whispered under his breath, “we killed a man. Oh my god.”

“Well he was a bad dude, who was gonna kill us. Also, I killed him, you aren’t to blame Teej. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! I know he was going to kill you... but...” TJ sighed, defeated. “It just feels... wrong.”

“I know man, but it’s gonna all be alright. Now we gotta dispose of the body.” Shane stood up, wiping his hands on his shirt. “Okay so I have a lighter, and we can use gasoline from our cars. Do you wanna burn him?”

“What the fuck Shane? How can you be so casual about this?” Ryan spluttered.

Shane gave him a look. “You heard what he said Ry, this isn’t the first body I’ve had to deal with. I had a pretty shitty past job.”

Ryan looked slightly meek at that, but still indignant. “I’m sorry about that... but me and TJ, we don’t know what to do. We should be calling the police.”

“And one of us will go to jail for his murder. We need to get rid of the body.”

“It was self defence.”

“I slit his throat Ry! One smooth motion, he barely struggled! They won’t see that as self defence.”

“But he shot me. He had a gun.” Ryan’s voice was hollow, oddly weak. Having Shane actually describe the murder had shocked him, and he had paled.

“We need to get rid of his body. Then we can come up with some bullshit cover story. Maybe we’ll say someone came in here with a gun and tried to steal our equipment!”

It was silent for a few minutes. TJ threw up in the corner. Ryan looked unsure, oddly childlike as he sat there thinking. Shane began wrapping Ray’s throat up, to stop more blood from dripping onto the floor.

After a while, Ryan finally spoke up. “The house was built on an old mineshaft. The tunnels aren’t accessible anymore but there’s apparently a hole into the caves in the basement.”

“And?” Shane raises an eyebrow.

“If we can’t... burn... we can... drop him... into the hole.”

“Ryan you’re a genius! You’d do great in the mafia.” Shane nudged him gently, trying to make a joke. Ryan just paler slightly, tight lipped as he slowly rubbed his face.

“Sorry. Bad joke. So me and Teej will have to do most of the heavy lifting, I’ll find a curtain or something to wrap his body in. Just wait here... try not to freak out.” Shane left the room, searching the house for something suitable. Eventually, he ripped down the curtains in one of the bedrooms, as well as picking up some old wires from the corner. He went back to the main bedroom, took the car keys from Ray’s pocket, and began wrapping the sheets around Ray, tying them at the head, waist, knees and feet with the wires. He sat back when he was finished.

“Okay we need to move his body. I’ll try to do most of it, but you guys need to help. I’ll take the upper body, you guys the legs.”

Silently, TJ stood up and grabbed the legs, Ryan used his good arm to lift under them. Shane had his arms wrapped around the shoulders, the body leaning against his side. Slowly, they began moving into the corridor, down the stairs and towards the basement. When they reached the basement, they dropped the body onto a table with a low thud. They all started searching for the hole, Ryan eventually finding it behind a wooden board in the corner. They picked up the body and pushed it head first into the hole, listening to the hollow thuds of it moving downwards. They heard a quiet crash after a minute or so, then covered the hole again before turning back upstairs.

“We need to move his car. I’ll drive it if you guys follow with another car. I’ll ditch it somewhere then we can drive back to the house. Then we can sort out our story and call someone. Okay?”

Ryan and TJ didn’t respond, just slowly nodded.

They drove down old country roads, through some woods and eventually ending up near a ravine. Shane put their phones and the gun in the car. Then he got out of the car, wiped the steering wheel and car keys. He left the door open, before picking up a brick and quickly leaning it on the gas pedal. The car moved slowly forwards, and then over into the ravine. They could hear the metal crunching as it crashed against rocks and then eventually into the water below. Shane got into Ryan’s car, and they all drove back in silence to the house.

“Okay so our cover story: what should it be? Ryan? Come on you’ve looked at enough cases to know what is a good alibi.”

Ryan finally looked up. “So we were doing our investigation. But then a man came into the house and surprised us, I thought he was a ghost, but he came into the room with a gun. He made us give him our phones, and then he wanted our equipment. Then...”

“Then I tried to get smart, I didn’t want to give him anything and I told him that. So he hit me on the side of my head with his gun, and I fell to the floor. He was threatening you two, so I decided to take out my pocket knife and stab him. In the leg. He started bleeding, but then he shot Ryan’s shoulder before running away.”

“We heard his car start, so we assumed he drove away. But he had our phones so we couldn’t call anyone. Shane and TJ started tending to my shoulder. Then we got in our cars and drove for help.”

“But TJ dropped our camera. Just the main one, not the GoPros. They don’t have times on them, but the main one does. It shattered on the floor. When it was smashed it corrupted the footage, meaning that the past two hours were gone. We got to the house at seven, it’s 11 now so we’ll say he came just after 10:30.” Shane held up his flashlight, angling it at the camera, about to hit.

“Wait! Let me take out the memory card. I just think it’ll be safer if we keep it, maybe destroy it later.” TJ quickly pulled out the memory card and slipped it into his rucksack. He then nodded for Shane to go ahead. Shane swung his flashlight, shattering the lens. He then picked up the camera and dropped it, a crunch sounding as it fell apart on the floor.

“We should have the same description too. Tall, heavy-set and wearing all black. Brown boots. He wore a balaclava so we couldn’t see any facial features.”

“That’s good, not too generic but specific enough. One if you guys should hit me, with the flashlight, it’s a similar shape to the barrel of a gun. Hit me hard, maybe try to cut me.”

TJ quickly stepped forward. “I’ll do it.” He took the flashlight and whacked Shane’s forehead with it. The angle was severe so it made a small cut. Shane reeled backwards, almost falling.

“Jesus TJ. You got a vendetta against me or something? That really hurt.”

“Consider it payback for tonight. We almost died you know.”

“I was going to sacrifice myself for you!”

“He has a point Shane. Besides, I reckon half the office would be lining up for a free shot at you. You can be kinda annoying sometimes.” Ryan smirked at his friend. Shane half smiled back, but was still clutching his forehead in pain.

“Fair point Ryan. Good hit Teej. Okay we should probably go now. The nearest town is a few miles out. Everyone remember our story?” Ryan and TJ nodded back. “Okay let’s go. I’ll drive Ryan’s car and TJ you go back in yours. I’ll drive in front so you just follow us. Sound good?”

“Let’s just go already, my shoulder really hurts.”

~ two months later ~

There had been a brief investigation into the events of that night, only by the local police force. There was no blood match in the data base for the perpetrator, and thought they found the car, it had illegal plates so couldn’t be traced to one owner. The gun was unregistered, and they never found the body. That wasn’t unusual, they said that once a body was in the ravine it was basically gone for good. Shane had to meet with his witness protection handler, but he assured her that it wasn’t mafia related — just wrong place wrong time.

Ryan’s shoulder began to heal. He had to have surgery to remove the bullet, but was very lucky that it had pierced no bones or major arteries. There was some muscle damage, but nothing long term.

TJ stopped doing Unsolved shoots, he said he didn’t feel safe. It was probably due to Shane, but as far as Buzzfeed knew the experience with the gunman scare him.

Shane had phones his mother as soon as he got the chance at the police station. She was entirely fine, just slightly annoyed he woke her in the middle of the night. It turns out Ray had been bluffing: he was the only guy from the mafia who knew Alec was living in LA as Shane Madej. He didn’t have any guys with Shane’s mother. She was safe.

Unsolved still continued, Shane and Ryan closer than ever. They paused the supernatural season, but did a very special true crime episode. They talked about what had happened that night (the official police version anyway) as though it were a proper case, which in a way it was. 

Ryan explained how much was unknown, like the perpetrator’s identity, as well as how he knew they would be there. It turns out that a man had called up a week before, pretending to be Shane’s uncle, wondering when he would get back from the shoot so he could surprise him. The receptionist had been happy to share the details, honestly believing that she was involved in a surprise party for Shane, not an attempt on his life. Ryan’s favourite theory was that the gunman was a crazy fan, who had taken Shane’s joke at wanting an unsolved murder too seriously. 

Some of the theories were a little too close to the truth: “Theory 3 is that one of the victims, Shane Madej, had ties with the mafia. This theory poses that the incident at the house was actually a failed hit, with Madej meant to be the intended victim”. They both burst out laughing at that one, and the fans praised them for being able to recover and joke about their experience in the comments. Theory 4, of course, was aliens. Ryan came up with outlandish links, such as never finding the perp’s body, as evidence that he was an alien trying to take their technology. Shane just sighed, looking directly into the camera as he whispered “Ryan’s finally lost it guys.”

Shane opened up about his past, telling Ryan about his childhood and being prepared for a life in the Polish mafia. He also spoke Polish to him, sharing his favourite words. Once, after he had a few drinks, he climbed on a bar table and began belting out a Polish drinking song. Ryan hated how much his friend had been hiding from him, but now he understood why. He listened when Shane vented about how he couldn’t return to Poland, and how different (he meant worse) America was. He understood why Shane was the way he was, and there friendship grew because of it. Ghoul Bros for life.

**Author's Note:**

> i was stuck in a cabin in the woods with no wifi, so i wrote this. let me know what you thought :)


End file.
